1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to weight lifting exercise equipment, and more particularly, to a power rack apparatus for lifting at least heavy dumbbells to failure, without the need for a human spotter.
2. Description of Related Art
A power rack (also known as a power cage, a cage, a squat cage, or a squat rack) is a weight training device designed to allow lifters to use barbell free weights safely without the movement restrictions imposed by a machine, such as a Smith machine. The cage comprises four or six vertical posts with horizontal shelves and horizontal safety bars. The cage has been around for many decades and is well known by weight lifters, from beginners to more seasoned lifters.
The cage is useful for recreational lifting, scholastic lifting, professional strength training, bodybuilding, and power lifting. The cage can be used to perform many exercises targeting the complete upper and lower body muscles. The lifts can be standing, seated upright or inclined on a bench, and lying flat or declined on the bench. Some exercises include many types of barbell bench presses, overhead barbell presses, barbell shrugs, barbell tricep extensions, barbell curls, barbell squats, and barbell dead lifts. The cage can be used to perform a complete full range of motion training, partial repetitions, and static holds.
The cage allows the lifter to place an empty barbell bar in a safe starting position on vertically adjustable barbell shelves based on the lifter's particular body size and the type of exercise that they are performing. Once in position, the bar can be loaded with the desired amount of weight by the lifter before they get into position to begin the lift. Without the shelves, the lifter would put himself at risk of injury as they would have to heave a heavy barbell off the floor and into the starting position of the lift. Getting the barbell to the starting position would often take a very awkward and dangerous movement. Further, the lifter would spend critical energy and strength reserves before they even begin the desired lift. Thus, lifting the barbell to the starting position would detract from his overall performance including the number of repetitions and the amount of weight that can be used on the lift.
A conventional cage has safety bars, which are a main advantage of this lifting equipment over other types of weight racks, because the safety bars allow the lifter to train to failure without the aid of a human spotter. Training to failure allows the lifter to completely exhaust a given muscle in just a few sets and thus allows for entire body workouts in as short as forty five minutes to an hour. This is much quicker, more effective, and results in shorter muscle recovery times than when not training to failure, resulting in more strength and muscle gains in a given year. Just as important, the shorter workouts allow the lifter to spend more time outside of the gym to pursue other interests and activities.
Just before starting the exercises, the lifter sets the safety bars at the desired height such that once failure is reached, he can set the barbell down onto them without having to worry about being crushed by the heavy barbell. Absent the safety bars, a spotter would be required to assist the lifter to prevent serious injury or death when training to failure. However, many lifters prefer to train by themselves, or they do not have a consistent or trustworthy workout partner. Often, lifters find it difficult to find a long term training partner due to differences in life schedules, training goals, motivation levels, and consistency.
Lifters who train at a gym can ask others for a spot. However, often times people get annoyed when you ask them for a spot, since you are interrupting their workout and concentration. Thus, many lifters do not ask out of fear of bothering someone they do not know. Also, when setting a new personal record, often there is not always a strong enough person available who is able and willing to assist. Further, there is no guarantee that the spotter will perform the spot correctly. Inexperienced spotters often grab the bar prematurely when they see the lifter struggling to complete their final repetition, when in fact that lifter would have been able to complete the repetition without assistance. This often leads to frustration in a missed opportunity to train to failure, a missed chance to reach a desired goal, or to set a personal best. Thus, the preferred solution for many lifters is to use the cage. This allows the lifters to train to failure and get the most out of their lifting session, and to do so safety and consistently without having to rely on others.
Many Barbell Power Racks also come equipped with a “Pull Up Bar” which allows an individual lifter or a pair of lifters to perform both upper or lower body barbell exercises and Pull Up Bar upper body or abdominal (e.g., hanging leg raises) exercises all in the same apparatus. This also allows an individual lifter or a pair of lifters to “superset” various combinations of these exercises all in the same apparatus which allows them to meet the required few seconds rest between each exercise for optimal benefit. Without this, it would be frowned upon for a lifter or pair of lifters to tie up multiple pieces of equipment in a busy gym to complete several of these supersets.
In addition to the barbell, dumbbells are an equally important tool in the arsenal of the lifter who wishes to get stronger and/or sculpt his muscles. Dumbbells are better at keeping the muscles on each side of the body more equal in strength. They also allow a more free range of motion than the barbell on some exercises (e.g., chest press), which can be used to target the muscles in a unique fashion, as well as allow those with specific injuries to modify an exercise appropriately. The same issues discussed above for in which one desires to train to failure with a barbell without relying on a spotter, face those performing dumbbell lifting exercises.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,314 to Hummer discloses a weightlifting apparatus for supporting dumbbells including side frames carrying at least one angularly adjustable dumbbell support. In one aspect, the dumbbell support is vertically adjustable on the side frames. In another aspect, the dumbbell support is mounted on a horizontal crossbar extending between and coupled to the elevation adjustable members on the side frames. The elevation adjustment members are motor or manually driven screws. In another aspect, the dumbbell support is movably mounted on the crossbar and latchable in horizontally adjustable positions along the crossbar.
However, Hummer is not a simple, non-mechanism, mechanical design that allows for heavy dumbbells. Hummer's horizontal crossbar does not have angle studs and corresponding angled slots in the side frames to allow for simple and fast pull out and slide in manual height adjustment and self-locking of the bar on the side frames from its own weight. Instead, in order to elevate the crossbar, Hummer uses complicated, expensive, dynamic hardware involving, motors, shafts, cranks, pulleys, and gears. To join the crossbar to the side frames Hummer uses latches and pins. All of the above mentioned complex, dynamic hardware of Hummer is more subject to wear, overuse, limited life, and excessive manufacturing, maintenance, repair and part replacement costs than a simple, non-mechanism design.
Additionally, Hummer's dumbbell supports are not angled vertically upward from horizontal to keep the dumbbells from rolling toward the lifter and to more advantageously share the load of the dumbbells between the dumbbell supports and side frames to allow the heaviest dumbbell to be used. Further, Hummer is not an easy to use design as it does not resemble the conventional barbell power rack with manually adjustable barbell shelves.
Finally, Hummer lacks the cage design and pull up bars a of Dumbbell Power Rack and lacks the cage design with both a dumbbell power rack and barbell power rack section along with pull up bars that a Dumbbell and Barbell Combo Power Rack has. Thus, Hummer does not allow for an individual lifter or pair of lifters to superset dumbbell and pull up bar exercises all in the same apparatus, or to superset dumbbell, barbell and pull up bar exercises all in the same apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,556 to Jordan discloses a multilevel dumbbell support apparatus having a base, a pair of front vertical supports and a pair of rear vertical supports, wherein the front vertical supports are connected to the rear vertical supports and all of the vertical supports are rigidly mounted to the base, thereby forming a single frame structure that is adapted for use with a weight lifting bench. The multilevel dumbbell support apparatus incorporates one or more dumbbell supports adjustably connected to the front vertical supports. Each dumbbell support comprises a front lip portion, a flat portion, and a rear inclined portion, wherein the front lip portion and the flat portion have an opening cut therein to accommodate a lifter's hand when grasping a dumbbell disposed thereon.
However, Jordan does not provide for width adjustment or angled lipless trays. A large and precise width adjustment is important to accommodate various size lifters as well as the starting and ending positions of the various available exercises. Angled, lipless trays allow for the safe return of the dumbbells by a fatigued lifter without danger of him bumping the lip of a conventional non-inclined tray with the dumbbells and losing control of them. The angle, rather than a lip keeps the dumbbells from later rolling toward the lifter. Also, the angle allows for a more advantageous sharing of the dumbbell weight between the dumbbell supports and the vertical supports.